MONADELPHTA. 339 



5. Decandria. Geranium, properly so called, Engl. 

 Bot. t. 404, 405, 272, &c., is the principal genus 

 here. The late Professor Cavanilles, however, in 



• his Dissertationes Botanic^e referred to this order a 

 vast number of genera, never before suspected to be- 

 long to it, as Bantiisteria, Malpighia, Turrcca, Melia, 

 Sec, on account of some fancied union of their fila- 

 ments, perhaps through the medium of a tubular nec- 

 tary ; which principle is absolutely inadmissible ; for 

 we might just as well refer to Monadelphia every 

 plant whose filaments are connected by insertion into 

 a tubular corolla. Some species of Oxalis, see p. 

 327, belong to this Order ; as do several papiliona- 

 ceous genera, of which we shall speak under the next 

 class. (140) 



6. Endecandr'ia contains only the splendid South -Amer- 

 ican genus Brownea, the number of whose stamens is 

 different in different species. 



7. Dodecand?'la, Stamens mostly 15, is composed of 

 some fine plants allied to the Mallows, as Pterosper- 

 vmm, t. 620, Pentapetes, &c. 



8. Polyandna, a very numerous and magnificent Order, 

 comprises, among other things, the true Colummfe- 

 rtjs or Malvaceae, (141) as Malva^ Engl. Bot. t. 671, 

 754, Jlth^a, t. 147, Hibiscus, Spicil. Bot. t. 8, Gos- 



(140) [The Geraniums, Oxalis, and some others, which have 

 a five petalled corolla, and their fruit surmou».';ed with a beak, 

 are called by Linnaeus Griiinales.~\ 



(141) [The Afa/x»cceozis plants were called by Linnseus Colum- 

 ni^era, on account of the large tube of stamens, rising like a col- 

 umn in tl:e centre of the flower,] 



